the place where I talk about the nail and beauty products I love

Barry M AW17 Boots & Superdrug Limited Edition Nail Paints

When I saw the Boots & Superdrug Barry M LE Nail Paints bouncing around social media I really wanted to get my hand my hands on them. They all looked unique and not like anything Barry M have released before… which they are in some ways, but not in others…

Boots LE

Mystic PurpleAt first, I thought this was something new to Barry M but looking at it (and my collection) more closely I realised it’s very much like Persian from the discontinued Aquarium Collection (see here). It maybe has a slightly different purple base, IRL – my lighting is different in the 2 swatch photos, but my eyes could be deceiving me. It’s a purple (obviously) with a gold shift (not captured here, sadly) and micro glitter running through it. The formula is a little on the thin side, meaning it needed 3 coats!

Galaxy GreenNow this one is new to Barry M, with it’s dark green to gold duochrome base and micro glitter but the formula is AWFUL. I mean this is 4 coats, yes F O U R and it’s still patchy. It is one of the thinnest polishes I’ve ever come across. Now, maybe if I put it over a dark base it’ll look great because I can’t deny I’m loving the shift of the micro glitters. I’ll have to give it a go.

Superdrug LEs

Purple HexAnother disappointing polish on the formula front. Although not quite as thin as Green Galaxy, this still took 3 coats (shown) to even start looking like it was full coverage and even then it needed more. Nevertheless, I love the duochrome shimmer and it would probably, again, look better as a topper over a base. For all I know, that was what was intended!

Copper DreamsThis was the one polish out of the four that I thought was going to be a dupe – for Gingerbread, one of last years Christmas LE nail paints. I was wrong though Gingerbread is much more sparkly (see here)! This has a gorgeous copper to brown shift and it has holo micro glitter. It also 3 thin coats but that is actually all it needed this time so a bit of an improvement.

The Superdrug duo is definitely my favourite of the two and despite the problematic formulas, the colours are perfect for this time of year (think spooky). These are still available from Boots & Superdrug for £3.99 each, but as they are limited edition they won’t be for long so I would pick them up while you can. That’s if you aren’t phased by the opacity issue (or are sensible and wear them over a base colour). They’re all included in the 3 for 2 offers that are currently running on both sites (and in-store).

“For all I know, that was what was intended!” I’m not a big nail polish person (before managing to grow my nails out I only used the stuff to have something to pick at when my anxiety gets bad) and I’ve never heard of polishes like this that you DON’T put a dark base under?? 😮

I’d love to see an update with your thoughts of them over dark bases!! I have the purple/blue superdrug one and I’ve been meaning to go out and buy some dark blue + dark purple polishes so I can see how different bases influence how the overall look works,, and I think I definitely want to do the same with the other three, when I can get them, because the copper and the green ones look beautiful in the bottle.

Copper Dreams was almost a one coater on me! If I’d been paying attention I think I would have got away with it too. Purple Hex did take three coats though, and I’ve just got the two Boots colours, so I’m sad to hear they’re so thin! Barry M have been on fire with their limited edition stuff this year, I’ve had to be all of it, so that’s four nail polishes, four matte me up lip paints, one lip boss, two matte me up lip kits and an eyeshadow palette!

Is there another lip and nail set then? I’ve got the one from Superdrug, have Boots got one as well? Superdrug also had another matte me up lip kit that I’ve got my eye on, as did Boots, but I got that one when I got some stuff off their website, (my nearest Boots doesn’t have Barry M. 😦 )

I found the link you’d posted before, ooh, the Boots set is gorgeous! I get paid on Friday, so I’m wondering if I have enough time to zip over to the nearest big Boots after work. *checks train timetable* Ooh, yes I do. Might as well. 😀

You’re so right about the Green Galaxy polish. It’s such a pain to put on but so pretty. I wish I’d read your review before and got a dark green polish as a base, it took me five coats to get a decent colour.